The Avengers and the X-Men have had their differences over the years. The two teams have often been at odds; the Avengers often seem to ignore the plight of mutants and side with the government that destroys mutants, and the X-Men take exception to that. However, one thing that the two groups have shared over the decades is members. It began with the Beast, who joined Earth’s Mightiest Heroes in the ’70s, and would expand as the years went on, with X-Men like Wolverine and Storm joining the team. Since then, the ties between the teams have ebbed and flowed, with Storm being the current mutant on the Avengers. However, it’s about time we admitted that the two teams should trade two members permanently.
Firestar is a mutant who joined the New Warriors in the early ’90s and ended that decade on the Avengers. She’s been an X-Man several times and was last seen as a member of the West Coast Avengers. Meanwhile, many fans would prefer that Beast go to the Avengers full-time, because his time with the group gave them their favorite incarnation of Mrs. McCoy’s bouncing baby boy. Marvel’s two biggest teams should trade these two members and change the dynamics of their groups, as each of them fits better on the other team.
Firestar & Beast Would Work Much Better on the Other Team
Image Courtesy of Marvel Comics
The New Warriors were meant to be the next generation, but only Firestar and her one-time boyfriend Justice made it to the Avengers. She did a pretty good job with the team, but eventually faded away. She didn’t make a lot of appearances throughout the ’00s and ended up joining the X-Men in the ’10s. She’d return to the team during the tail end of the Krakoa Era, where she was mostly lost in the shuffle (the Duggan-written X-Men (Vol. 6) did a terrible job building up most of the characters, especially Firestar). She ended up in the latest volume of West Coast Avengers, but that book failed, and we have no idea when we’ll see her again.
Unfortunately, Firestar is one of those heroes who never really gets a fair shake. She was never one of the popular characters, and it’s about time for her to get a chance to actually grow. She’s a nearly blank slate, and can be made into a reader-insert type character. She wasn’t given a chance to really shine as an X-Man and could have a chip on her shoulder, trying to prove herself, or could want to join a more familial-minded team. The fire-controlling mutant has cool powers and could easily slot into any of the current X-Men teams. She’s worked with Cyclops in the past, so she could shine in X-Men. She would do a great job training new mutants in Exceptional or try to find the family she never had as a hero in Uncanny.
Beast, on the other hand, needs to get away from a team that has led him to terrible acts. Beast has a terrible reputation, and it’s all because of his time with the X-Men. Sure, he’s a founding member of the team, but he takes too much on and is willing to do any horrific thing that needs to be done to protect mutants. No one really looks out for him; he’s rarely on squads with anyone he has a deep relationship with. And his work to protect mutants almost always ends up breaking him.
However, if you look at his time with the Avengers, it’s completely different. Beast in the Avengers is the happy-go-lucky hero that fans love. He has Wonder Man nearby, his best friend, and doesn’t have to worry about being the only scientist trying to save mutants. He is around people who like him for being his authentic self, and not for what he does for them. The Krakoa Era saw Beast become a true monster, and look how they solved it: by resurrecting the version of him who was on the Avengers. Marvel basically admitted that he was better off with that team, so it’s about time he went back. Everyone would be happier, especially his fans.
The Trades Would Make Both Characters Better
Image Courtesy of Marvel Comics
Trading these two characters would do a world of good for both of them. Firestar fits better with the X-Men than she does with any other team. No one has ever taught her how to use her powers the way other mutants learn, and it would give her the kind of exposure she’s not had since her days on Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends. She’s never really been a mutant hero, and she deserves a chance to change that.
Beast is almost always miserable in the X-Men. Most of his friends on the team don’t hang around him, and everyone expects him to solve every single scientific problem with mutants. There’s so much pressure on him that he doesn’t need. He needs to be surrounded by friends, and being with the Avengers would be better for him and his fans. It’s a perfect trade that would make each team better.
What Avengers and X-Men do you think should switch teams? Leave a comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!